As soon as the Dungeon Battle starts, we find ourselves in what looks like a dilapidated corridor, with wooden doors on each side. The crumbling walls, the spider threads hanging from the ceiling, and the dust that flies everywhere as soon as we take a step show that this place was abandoned a long time ago.

  The lack of light makes it impossible to see the corridor’s end, if there’s one. Overall, this place gives me the creeps.

  “This place…” I mutter, keeping my voice as low as possible to avoid alerting any possible enemy. “Do you think we’re against an undead player?”

  Laura nods. “It could be, or someone pretending to be one. Keep in mind that we’re against two players, so it could be undead and something else too.”

  “Ah, you’re right. I almost forgot.”

  Well, as long as there are no Abyss monsters, I don’t mind if this place is spooky. We’ll just need to keep our attention high, as this kind of place makes ambushes a cinch. Monsters could pop out from behind any door when we least expect it.

  Usually, you would know what team you’re against before starting the match, but we intentionally set it to hidden. It’s to prevent the other team from knowing what we have prepared for them.

  Most DMA players know that playing against the Flesh Monstrosities is hard and they raise their guards. We want to avoid it.

  I start inspecting the area but don’t notice anything out of place.

  “Do we start moving?” I ask.

  “Wait a moment. I want to check the other team first.”

  “All right.”

  It isn’t like we’re really pressed for time. Although in Dungeon Battles time is very important, rushing ahead is the worst decision you can make.

  Laura manipulates the menu to show the other team’s progress, an option exclusive of PvP matches, where you can’t interfere with the other team once the match starts.

  If you’re striving to reach the top rankings, or simply take the Dungeon Battles seriously, it’s a very important feature. It not only allows you to see what parts of your dungeon work and those that don’t, depending on how the other team plays, but it also allows you to keep track of the other team’s progress.

  For example, if you see your opponents are about to reach the end of your dungeon, you have a chance to rush ahead in a do-or-die fashion and hope for the best.

  “It’s… those bright blue eyes… it looks like an undead, you were right. And the other player is an angel? He looks dumb and extremely noob if I compare him to your sister… It’s easy to notice the difference because I’ve just met her.”

  I take a peek at the screen that appears in front of Laura. “Ah, you’re right! But won’t this make them break through our dungeon easily?”

  We created the Spitters for this exact reason, but the petrification it’s still a random chance. It could happen that the flying player is never affected and can safely scout ahead.

  “I don’t think so, I believe in your Spitters.” She takes a look at my expression before continuing. “Are you thinking about the random chance? Don’t worry. As soon as they realize there’s a chance the flying player falls to his death, I’m sure he will stop flying around.”

  “You mean their mobs…? I understand what you mean. It’s psychological warfare.”

  She nods. “You’re right.”

  What she means is that we don’t need to petrify any of the players for them to stop flying around. As soon as one of their support mobs is petrified, which has a higher chance of happening because they usually have lower stats than the Champions, they will know it can happen to them too. And then, to avoid an instant death scenario, they can only stop flying around.

  I take another look at the screen to watch their actions and inspect their team.

  They have eight support units with them, so their team is composed of ten units. There are three Zombies, which I’m sure they’ll use as cannon fodder; a pair of Skeletons; three Touched, which are the Divine Blood’s basic unit and aren’t that different from a human with a glowing rune on their forehead; and two units I don’t recognize, walking on four legs.

  “No Specters…” I comment. “They didn’t bring the most annoying unit, so it’s good for us. Wait, Specters hover in the air…”

  Now that I think about it, it would have been horrendous for us if they used Specters because they hover instead of flying, which means they don’t fall when they are petrified. They could use them as scout units without any punishment.

  We exchange a knowing look. She’s making an ‘oops!’ face.

  What a hole in our epic plans! Laura, weren’t you in charge of making the plans? How could you leave such a hole in them!?

  But as I said, they didn’t bring any Specter, so everything is fine.

  “That was close, Lily,” I say. “If they brought any, we’d be in a lot of trouble.”

  “I know…” she lowers her head in shame. “That was my oversight. What a huge blunder…”

  “Don’t take it to heart, everybody makes mistakes. Especially me.” I pat her back. “If I were the one to plan everything, I’m sure there would be errors everywhere! Fufufu! Hahaha!” I proudly pat my chest.

  She smiles. “You silly…”

  The enemy team is also inspecting us. I’m sure of it because of their postures, sticking together to look at a small screen.

  Information is key, so it isn’t unusual for this to happen. Even if we chose to start the Dungeon Battle without any knowledge about the enemy’s faction, this doesn’t mean we can’t try to grasp as much information as possible.

  Oh, yeah. Regarding our units. We brought two Good Followers with us, four Imps, and a hulking mass of flesh and fat called Glutton, from Laura’s faction.

  Because of the cp limit, we had to keep our expenses to the minimum, so we brought the minimum indispensable with us.

  The Imps are, as Laura likes to call them, ‘sacrificial units’. They have different resistance skills, and we will use them to scout and identify possible lethal traps.

  The Good Followers will be our frontline. Since they synergize well with me, they were the best option.

  And the Glutton is our hidden card. Well, not exactly ‘hidden’ because it’s impossible to hide something so large, but you know what I mean.

  This two-and-a-half-tall humanoid is as wide as it is tall. With a humongous belly, and an equally big extra mouth in it, it surely makes you wonder how is it capable of standing and running around. If this were real life, I’m sure this guy would weigh well over 400 kg.

  The Glutton is a demon with an innate skill you might already be expecting. It’s called Gluttony

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  Gluttony is a completely useless skill in short fights or dungeon invasions because you need time to charge it. But if you make sure the unit survives, and give it time to charge, it can literally deal an infinite amount of damage.

  This is also the perfect example of the gluttony sin well understood. Most people believe gluttony is only about eating, but it isn’t. Of course, wanting more food is a part of it, but the true essence of gluttony is overconsumption. About always wanting more. To consume that which you don’t need, leaving those in need without whatever you’re consuming.

  As you might expect, the other six capital sins also appear in the Wicked Legion: lust, sloth, greed, wrath, envy, and pride.

  Then, if the capital sins exist, why don’t Succubus and Incubus have the Lust skill, you ask? This is because only the ‘avatar’ units do. Succubus and Incubus are normal demons that are influenced by one of the sins, but they don’t represent it.

  And the Glutton, as strong and imposing as it looks, is only the lower tier of ‘avatar’ units, which are in the 400 to 600 cp range. The actual Avatar of Gluttony is a stupidly strong unit on the same ranking as the dragons, elder gods, and similar stuff.

  So, as I was saying, – I do have a tendency to cut myself with stupid thoughts, don’t I? – the Gluttony skill makes you want to accumulate as much damage as possible before releasing the attack.

  ‘Should I use the skill now, or wait until I consume more?’ I’m sure this is the question most players ask themselves when dealing with the Gluttony skill.

  By the way, yes, you’re right. When using the Gluttony skill, the Glutton opens its belly mouth wide open before biting the enemy.

  We’re bringing the Glutton with us because we don’t know what we’ll encounter, and both I and Laura lack single-target focus damage… something the Gluttony skill can fix pretty easily by itself if given enough time to charge.

  Leave it to the Wicked Legion for wicked and dangerous innate skills… Charming Eyes, Opportunist, Gluttony…

  So far, the only one I know that isn’t like that is my Mana Core… but you can argue it’s actually the most wicked one. After all, fast MP regeneration allows you to do a lot of nasty stuff.

  The two opposing players start discussing between themselves. They must be talking about what they see on our side.

  It’s clear Laura and her Glutton are from the Wicked Legion. The same goes for the Imps, as we didn’t disguise them at all.

  But when it comes to me and my units, it isn’t so easy. In this dark place, I’m sure they’re having trouble properly identifying my two Good Followers since I made them wear hoods that hide their faces.

  As for me, I look like a Wererat except for the claws and tail. Of course, my Champion has normal feet, but it’s hard to notice because of the shoes; and my hands actually look like claws, only extremely dark because they come from the Shadow.

  If they don’t pay proper attention, they might not notice the lack of a tail and think I’m an actual Wererat from the Wild Ferals faction, which is exactly what we’re aiming for.

  When they realize I’m from the Flesh Monstrosities, it’ll be too late! Fufufu! Hahaha!

  The lack of light, which I’m sure was designed to work against us, might end up working in our favor! Eat this, you fuckers! Hahaha!

  I can envision their despairing faces when…

  “Are you ready?” Laura snaps me out of my delusions.

  “Y-yes, I’m ready. Let’s go! Forward, to adventure!”

  But I can’t advance as she grabs my robe, forcing me to stop. “Don’t rush ahead. Did you forget we don’t have the Champion’s buff?”

  Oooh, shit. I forgot! “O-of course I know! Who do you take me for? Hahaha!”

  She stares at me with a skeptical face – come on, believe in my lie! – before turning around and starting to walk away.

  “Well, whatever. Let’s go.”

  I chase after her. “Hey, aren’t you afraid of ghosts and scary stuff?”

  “Huh? No, I’m not. Also, this is a game. Why would I be scared of a game?”

  “I guess you’re right…” Here goes my chance to feel something bouncy and soft when she got scared… Well, it isn’t like I was looking forward to it THAT much. “So… do we check every door in our way, or do we ignore them and move forward?”

  “Let’s start by checking them first. We’ll decide depending on what we see.”

  “All right!” I immediately extend my hand to grab the closest door’s doorknob, but when I’m about to pull on it… “Aaaah! My hand disappeared!” I shout.

  “... WHAT!?” Surprised, Laura turns around and sees that half my arm is inside the door. She opens her eyes wide and runs in my direction.

  I start laughing at her reaction. “Hahaha, you fell for it! It’s just an illusion!” I move my hand in and out of the fake door to show her.

  “You jerk! I thought it was dangerous!” She punches me. “The next time you do it, I’ll leave you alone.”

  “Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. I had to do it, your reaction was so funny! Hahaha! But maybe this is the good path to the core, so we should investigate it.”

  I put my hand inside the illusion one more time, but this time, when I try to pull out, I can’t. “How weird, my hand is locked in place…”

  I turn to Laura, but she sends me a dangerous glare. “I’m not falling for your tricks again.“

  “N-no, but this time it’s rea–” Whatever is grabbing my arm pulls me inside the door’s illusion, taking me by surprise. “Aaaaah! Save meeeeee…!”

  She won’t abandon me, will she…? I really hope she doesn’t.